INTERVIEW: Dow committed to Oman PE project

15 May 2007 15:03  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS news)--Dow Chemical and its joint venture partners in Oman are continuing to evaluate their proposed polyethylene (PE) project at the Sohar industrial port zone in the country but are still backing it.

 

Dow CEO Andrew Liveris said the US group remained committed to the Oman Petrochemicals Industries Co (OPIC) joint venture cracker and PE project, which has been delayed because of rising engineering, procurement and construction costs.

 

“We still intend to do the project,” he said in a telephone interview with ICIS news on Monday. “The two partners are in a re-evaluation phase to either bring the cost back down or change the scope so it becomes economic.”

 

The facility was originally scheduled to start up in 2009. “It’s now 2011 or beyond,” said Liveris.

 

Dow holds a 50% stake in OPIC, while the Oman government and Oman Oil Co each hold a 25% share.

 

Dow and its partners are tracking the PE market to ensure the project comes on stream during positive market conditions.

 

“What you don’t want to have is this plant starting up with too high a capital burden in the middle of a downturn in PE,” said Liveris. The joint venture partners needed to wait for capital costs to become more affordable and for the start-up to take place in an upturn environment, he added.

 

Dow can use its huge in-house engineering resource capabilities to cut the cost of its projects, Liveris said.

 

For the full interview please see the latest edition of ICIS Chemical Business.

 

By: Anna Jagger
+44 20 8652 3214

< previous article(VIDEO - ICIS news Asia Lunchtime Bulletin 16 October 2009)

For the latest chemical news, data and analysis that directly impacts your business sign up for a free trial to ICIS news - the breaking online news service for the global chemical industry.

Get the facts and analysis behind the headlines from our market leading weekly magazine: sign up to a free trial to ICIS Chemical Business.

Printer Friendly